All Roads, Wet or Dry, Lead to a Victory Parade at the Tour de France

MORZINE, France — If after three weeks there were any riders left in the Tour de France who were disappointed that the race ends on Sunday, the final day of actual racing likely washed away their longing for more.

After crashing in similar conditions on Friday, Chris Froome of England got through the stage without incident despite several treacherous descents. All that remains now is for Froome to officially be declared the winner for the third time on the Champs-Élysées on Sunday evening. Except for the final sprint — an activity that Froome and all other nonsprinters will conspicuously avoid — the stage from Chantilly into Paris will be largely ceremonial.

“The race is done and dusted,” said Froome, who was born in Kenya and shows no fondness for the cold and wet. “It’s an amazing feeling of relief.”

Romain Bardet, a rider with AGR2 who gave France its first and only stage win on Friday, is second, 4 minutes 5 seconds behind Froome.

Saturday’s stage was won solo by Ion Izaguirre of Spain. He joined Vincenzo Nibali, the Italian who won the Tour two years ago after Froome abandoned the race, and Jarlinson Pantano, a Colombian who has a stage win this year, at the top of the Col de Joux Plane, the final mountain pass of this year’s Tour.

Early on its narrow and twisting descent, Pantano nearly went off the road. He put his foot down and braked, blocking Nibali and allowing Izaguirre to escape.

Christian Prudhomme, the Tour’s director, acknowledged on Saturday that “there was no contest for Chris Froome’s third win.” None of Froome’s rivals were able to mount a successful challenge.

Nairo Quintana, a Colombian with Movistar, came close to denying Froome his second win on the final Saturday of the 2015 Tour.

But Quintana displayed none of that form this year. The only time he successfully got away from Froome was on Saturday, in the final finishing straight, which was filled with puddles after a driving rain. Froome and his four Sky teammates clearly could not bother to chase. Quintana’s gain was just four seconds. Assuming no mishaps, Quintana will end the Tour in third place over all, 4:21 behind Froome.

“This year, he wasn’t at his best for whatever reason,” Froome said of Quintana on Saturday night.

Spain’s Alberto Contador, who has won the Tour three times but lost one title because of doping, crashed early on. He never fully recovered and eventually abandoned the race.

Despite the lack of an effective challenge to Froome, the race was not without surprises.

In an episode without precedent in a modern Tour de France, Froome turned the race into a duathlon of sorts on the slopes of Mont Ventoux. With less than a kilometer remaining, an unrestrained and boisterous crowd forced a television motorbike to stop suddenly. Richie Porte, Froome’s former lieutenant at Sky who is now with the American BMC team, was the first to crash into it. Froome joined in the pileup, only to have his bicycle crushed by a trailing motorbike.

Without wheels, he took to running. Some spectators said later they thought he was fan dressed up as his cycling idol. Eventually, after two bicycle changes, he made it to the finish. The race referees, in a somewhat controversial move, adjusted the results to prevent Froome from being penalized on his time.

Prudhomme said that had Porte not plowed in the motorbike, he may have provided the challenge the race ultimately lacked. Porte will finish fifth and is 5:17 behind Froome.

On Saturday night, Froome said his favorite moment was another peculiar day. Although Froome is known more for his strength than for his bike handling, he attacked on a descent in the Pyrenees to win the stage into Bagnères-de-Luchon. It was inelegant, with Froome pedaling sitting on the top tube of his bicycle frame for aerodynamic gain, but effective, putting him into the yellow race leader’s jersey.

The Tour had its revelations. Peter Sagan, a Slovak with the soon-to-be-disbanded Tinkoff team, was as charismatic and flashy as Froome is businesslike. Once notorious for near misses, Sagan, the current world champion, won three stages, as well as the best sprinters’ jersey.

Adam Yates, a young English rider with Australia’s Orica-BikeExchange team, had come to the Tour for a second time for experience. He leaves having finished fourth over all. Next year, he will be joined by his twin brother, Simon. A mix-up by the team led to Simon being suspended for not properly reporting the use of a medically prescribed drug.

As for Froome, he announced on Saturday that he will contest the time trial at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics next month. Its hilly circuit should suit him well.

But now, having won three Tours de France, Froome demurred when asked if he was looking for new challenges in the sport.

“It would be my dream to keep coming back to the Tour de France the next five, six years,” he said.

A version of this article appears in print on , on Page SP9 of the New York edition with the headline: All Roads, Drenched or Dry, Lead to a Victory Parade. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe